


On a Leash/String Him Along

by LaughingStones



Series: Space Shenanigans [1]
Category: Motorcity
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Badass Julie, Collars & Leashes, Cyborg chuck, Dubious Consent, Humiliation, Hurt/Comfort, Illustration by Splickedylit, Master/Slave dynamics, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-02 17:28:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10223408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaughingStones/pseuds/LaughingStones
Summary: Julie needs some information. The information broker has a grudge against Mike, but that won't be a problem; Julie has everything under control.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [to the sky without wings](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5609887) by [leupagus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leupagus/pseuds/leupagus). 
  * Inspired by [so real in the dark](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15567330) by [BirchBow (chaoticTenebrism)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticTenebrism/pseuds/BirchBow). 



> This fic was in fact inspired by that one scene in chapter four of _to the sky without wings_ , (holy damn), and based on _so real in the dark_.
> 
> Thanks to Curlicuecal, Roachpatrol, and Splickedylit for betaing and encouragement!
> 
> Warning: The first half of this fic has what looks like non-consensual hair-pulling, groping, etc. If apparent non-con stuff will bother you, please be careful.

Yan’s guards had their guns drawn the moment Julie walked in. Their fingers weren't on the triggers yet, but that didn't mean much. If Chuck didn't have his new protocol in place, he'd be freaking the fuck out, which was half the point of the protocol, of course.

Chuck moved to one side of Julie, as was appropriate for a blank-faced guard, and Mike stopped a pace behind her with his eyes on the floor. Chuck saw Yan’s eyes widen slightly as he took in the leash leading from Julie’s wrist to the collar at Mike's throat, very visible without his jacket on.

“So it's true! The Burners have undergone some restructuring, huh?” Yan said, bouncing out of his chair to prowl around the table. Behind him the guards lowered their guns, but shifted positions to keep a clear line of sight to the visitors. “That must've been quite the falling out!”

Julie smiled. “You could say that, or you could say I just ran out of patience with following someone else's orders.”

Yan’s grin was sharp and suspicious. It faded and his eyes widened again as he got close enough to see the green lights on the very distinctive white collar. “Holy fire, is that a Deluxian Minder? Who'd you sell to get your hands on that?”

Julie huffed, shaking her head. “I'm not going to say it was easy, that's for sure. But that's not why I'm here. Are you going to invite me to sit down?”

Yan squinted at her, looking up to meet her eyes since he was almost a foot shorter than her. “What about your other buddy here? He's awful quiet.” Yan frowned up at Chuck, who kept his face still and blank. It was easy to be impassive when he couldn't feel anxiety from the sudden attention. “Isn't he the jumpy shrieky one?”

Julie gave a small, sleek smile. “Not anymore. I decided he was more useful like this. And he was too loyal to Mike with his emotional module intact, so I made a few changes.”

Yan raised a thin brown eyebrow. “So if I ordered him to come pour the tea…”

Julie shrugged one shoulder, still smiling. “He wouldn't laugh at you because he doesn't have much of a sense of humor anymore, but he only obeys me now.”

Yan pursed his lips at her. “Ms. Kapulsky, a sense of humor should be treasured! Buuut maybe not in pesky subordinates.” He grinned and waved an arm at the table. “Please, have a seat! You don't seem burdened by your ex-captain’s unfortunate ethical constraints. I think we could do business together.”

“I'm delighted you agree,” Julie purred, and strode past him, Mike drawn in her wake. Chuck followed more slowly, not wanting to turn his back on Yan any more than he wanted Julie and Mike out of reach.

Yan moved around the opposite side of the table to return to his seat. Clearly he didn't entirely trust them, which was probably smart in his line of work.

Chuck leaned against the wall behind and to one side of Julie. Julie tugged on Mike’s leash and said, “Down,” like someone would command a dog, and Mike dropped to his knees next to her chair. Julie ran her fingers through his hair absently.

Yan curled his legs under him in his chair and tilted his head from side to side, studying them with eyes like blue lasers. “Hmm,” he said, and at some unseen signal the two guards had their guns up and aimed again, their smooth tan faces as still as Chuck’s was with most of his emotions turned off. He wondered if they were cyborgs too.

“It's occurred to me,” Yan said, “I've got no proof that collar is real, no proof Chilton’s not just playacting, trying to pull one over on me.” He pinched his lips together. “I lost respect in the community, you know, after a certain do-gooder took the information I graciously sold him and misused it. The whole Moritz clan took a hit, and then my profits did. I don't do business with people who've got no common courtesy.”

Julie snorted. “I guess I should be flattered that you think I could build a fake that looks this good.” Her hand clenched in Mike's hair and yanked, tugging his head back to display the collar clearly. Mike’s lips were tight and his cheeks flushed as Chuck watched, but he made no attempt to resist her hold or protest.

The guards lowered their weapons again as Yan got up and came over to inspect the collar, small hands on his hips, leaning in what had to be uncomfortably close. On his knees, Mike's head came up to Yan’s chest.

“If it's real, why the leash?”

Julie’s lips curled up, catlike. “Oh, that's purely an aesthetic preference. You'll notice it's not exactly a sturdy thing.”

Yan looked at the clasp of the leash and shrugged agreement. “You couldn't have built this yourself, I bet,” he said, studying the collar again, “but I've got no doubts a determined young woman like you has the resourcefulness to get hold of an excellent fake.”

Julie sighed, letting up her grip so Mike could raise his head. His gaze dropped immediately. “Well, I can't exactly take it off for you to check that it works,” she said. “Would you like some proof of his obedience?”

“What exactly can you offer that would satisfy?” Yan said, going back to his chair. “Anyone can play fetch.”

Julie frowned a moment, then her lips parted and she smirked. “Mike’s known as a pretty… straightedge sorta guy, wouldn't you agree?”

“I’d put it differently,” Yan said. “Like he's got a stick up his ass the size of a planetoid.”

“Exactly,” Julie said, as Mike twitched and frowned, eyes still lowered. “On your feet, Mike.”

He stood up immediately, eyes flickering to her before they dropped again.

She tugged on the leash and patted her knee. “Sit,” she said, and he hesitated, flinched, and slid onto her lap, straddling her thighs. His cheeks flushed darker.

Running a hand up into his hair, Julie grabbed a handful and pulled back steadily until his spine was bent into an arch. He was breathing hard, eyes closed.

Her other hand smacked down on his butt and he jerked and gasped. “Open your eyes.”

Mike whimpered softly in the back of his throat and opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling.

Chuck was pretty sure if he could feel his own emotions right now, he'd be deeply conflicted. It was probably a good thing they were locked down, because this was hot, and really wrong, and Mike looked all lost and helpless and there was nothing Chuck could do about it.

“He hates this,” Julie said conversationally, eyes on Mike. “I can touch him however I like, even in public, and he can't do a thing about it.” She ran her free hand up his thigh.

“Singer's own song, Ms. Kapulsky,” Yan said, “did this foolish man turn you down in the past?” He managed to sound reproving of Mike's mistake rather than gleeful, but his eyes glinted.

“None of your business,” Julie said coolly, not looking away from Mike. “What would you do to me if you could, Mike?”

Jaw clenched, Mike didn't answer right away, and flinched visibly at whatever the collar did in response. Julie smacked him again and he gasped.

“Answer me,” she said.

“Throw you out an airlock,” he grated, still bent backwards.

“Good boy,” Julie purred, and Mike jerked, cheeks a dark rosy brown. “The reward module is pretty excellent,” she explained, casually palming his butt. “I have it set to high at the moment, of course, since he's still in training. He can hold out for longer than you'd think against punishment, but punishment plus reward he's weak to.”

“Huh,” Yan said. Chuck thought he might be taking mental notes.

“One of the first orders I gave him was to feel it when I touch him.” Julie’s smile was smug. “I'm proud of that one. He physically _can't_ disobey it, so any time I happen to touch him, the collar rewards him. It's a wonderful conditioning mechanism. He ends up wanting my touch as much as he hates it.” She brushed a finger along Mike's lower lip and he twitched.

“Clever!” Yan said. “But why's he still in training? When’d you collar him?”

“Only three weeks ago,” Julie said, shrugging, “so it'll probably take a while longer.” She rubbed a thumb back and forth over a nipple, the thin material of his t-shirt no protection. Mike groaned through his teeth, hands flexing on his thighs.

Yan frowned. “I thought those things were supposed to be quick!”

Julie gave him a look. “Compared to any typical training program, yes. For a stubborn idiot like him, this is practically instantaneous.” She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at Mike. “I can depend on him to obey without needing to be forced about, oh, ninety percent of the time. Not counting that brief hesitation you might have noticed. We're still working on that ten percent.”

“What's it look like when you force him?” Yan’s leg jittered as he bounced the ball of his foot on his chair, and his eyes were predatory and bright.

“Oh,” Julie said, smirking, “would you like to see him punished?” She finally let go of Mike's hair and he straightened up in her lap, panting. “There are some things he consistently resists, even after weeks of training. For instance: Mike. Kiss me.”

Mike's head snapped up and his jaw clenched as he glared at her. The look on his face was so full of rage and disgust that if Chuck hadn't known better, he'd have thought Mike was looking at Kane. His body tightened, hands closing into fists as he struggled against the order, breath growing harsh. A small sound of pain escaped him and he began to curl in on himself, fighting to breathe, muscles rigid and trembling.

Julie huffed in annoyance. “Order withdrawn,” she said, and Mike slumped, gasping, going loose all at once. “Sometimes he'll do that until the pain makes him pass out. Definitely still a ways to go with the training.”

Yan nodded, scratching his sideburns. He looked Mike over with a faint, satisfied smile that vanished quickly. “Well, I'll admit I never heard Captain Chilton was any good at lying, much less acting. But still, I can think of plenty of men who'd be happy to sign up for this kind of game without needing any fancy mind-control.”

Julie’s jaw dropped slightly in utter disbelief. “Seriously? Including a man who barely knows games like that _exist?_ You think he'd be wearing a leash, on his knees, getting humiliated in front of someone with a grudge against him, if he had a _choice?_ ”

Yan looked at her, back at Mike, then at her again, studying, analyzing. He rubbed one knuckle across his chin. “He does seem to like what you're doing most of the time,” he said with a little grimace, like it pained him to point out a flaw in his opponent's logic.

Julie’s eyes narrowed. “Well, _yes_ ,” she said. “I _know_ I mentioned the reward module and my very first order.” She put a hand in Mike’s hair and tugged to illustrate and he groaned softly, eyes down and face tight.

“You did,” Yan said. His eyes still flickered from her to Mike and back, like he was waiting for something. “I'm just pointing out there's an alternative explanation for his behavior.”

Julie’s lips thinned with anger and she sat up very straight. “Forget this. You've looked at the collar up close, you've seen it in action--if you doubt it's a real Minder after all that, you're too obtuse to be worth my time. If you know it's real and you're still not willing to do business--well. It's obviously time to go. Up, Mike.”

Mike stood up, eyes on the floor, hands working at his sides. Chuck stepped away from the wall, distantly aware that normally panic would be constricting his lungs right now, except he would have been panicking ever since they'd walked in. Julie made to push her chair back and Yan cleared his throat loudly.

“Now Ms. Kapulsky, there's no need to go hurrying off--”

Julie stood up and folded her arms. “I'm not _hurrying_. I gave you plenty of time up front, and now it looks like a wasted investment.” She looked down her nose at him. “Don't think you can play me. You know the collar’s genuine, you're just looking for more demonstrations. I have no objection to showing off my toys, but _I_ don't perform on demand, Mr. Yan.”

“Ms. Kapulsky, I would _never_ \--”

“And I don't like being messed with. And it's a pity,” she added, sweeping her hair back over her shoulder, “I was willing to add three percent to your fee for your past troubles, but--”

“I think we can do business!” Yan said, with a bright, urgent grin. “Really now, you're right, that collar’s obviously real. It's pretty clear, I can't think what else could break in a stiff-neck like Chilton that way. Damn impressive.” He took on a solemn expression Chuck wouldn't trust for a second. “I apologize for the bad manners. I hope you won't let it stand in the way of a mutually beneficial working relationship.”

Julie considered him with a slight frown and finally softened enough to sit again. She tugged the leash and Mike dropped to his knees beside the chair. Chuck leaned back against the wall.

“You really must tell me how you got hold of the thing, though,” Yan said, settling back comfortably in his chair. “Last time I got the merest sniff of a real Minder, it changed hands for enough to buy a good piece of a planet.”

“Convince me you're serious about business first, then I'll give you the story,” Julie said. “For now, I'll just say it was pure luck.”

Yan held up a hand. “Let me guess. The stroke of luck came first, _then_ the mutiny when you seized the opportunity.”

Julie wrinkled her nose. “I don't like the word mutiny. Restructuring is much better.”

Yan shrugged, indifferent. “Well, as you like. On to business!” He clapped his hands together and glanced at one impassive guard, who nodded and moved to set a tray on the table. “Tea?”

*

The three of them were silent on their way back across the station to the ship, late in the evening shift. They waited until they were on board and secure before Mike slumped and ran a hand through his hair, Julie ripped the leash off her wrist, and Chuck dropped cross-legged to the floor to disable the no-feel protocol.

“God,” Julie said. “Come here, Mike, let me get that thing off you.”

“Yes please,” Mike said, voice a little tight.

“You're back! Everybody okay?” Dutch said, hurrying into the cargo bay. Worried dark eyes swept over them and his shoulders loosened as he took in the lack of injuries. “We're all loaded and resupplied if you got all the info.”

“You've got no idea how good it is to hear that,” Mike said, holding still while Julie worked at getting the hacked and altered Minder to unfasten. “We got the information, yeah. We know how to save Jacob and his station. I'm about done with this place, man, let's get out of here.”

“Gotcha,” Dutch said with a nod. “I'll tell ROTH. Uh, Texas is still sulkin’ in his quarters, by the way. I swear he's on board, I'm not tryin’ to leave him behind.” He walked out.

“Texas has no right to sulk,” Chuck mumbled, a faint shadow of indignation stirring as he carefully picked away at the protocol. He couldn't just delete it, because he had the feeling it could come in handy in the future, but that meant he had to be careful how he deactivated it. “ _Texas_ got to stay safe on the ship and not get guns pointed at him. And he's a terrible actor, even with a month's practice. He would've gotten us all killed.”

Julie and Mike ignored this, since they'd already heard it multiple times during the original argument. Julie blew out her breath in relief as the collar finally came free. “It's a good thing you're done with this place,” she pointed out to Mike, “because if you're ever seen around here without that thing on your neck, Yan’s probably going to want us both dead. Costing him profits is one thing, but making a fool out of him is something else.”

Mike rubbed a hand around his neck like he was wiping away the memory of the collar on his skin. “Not sure how much of _that_ we managed,” he muttered.

“Hey!” Julie snapped. “Considering you're not actually my _slave_ and there was no physical pain involved in that little performance, I'd say we managed a lot! Did you notice how he softened right up after your ‘punishment’? It worked exactly like I thought it would!” She stopped, mouth twisted, breathing hard.

“You're right, it did,” Mike said, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry. It wouldn't have worked without you, Jules. You were amazing.”

“I was _grotesque_ ,” she spat.

Mike looked startled, but said steadily, “You played the part, just like I did.”

Julie’s shoulders slumped and she shook her head. “God, this is _stupid_ , you shouldn't be comforting me! I'm not the one who was just led around a whole damn space station on a _leash_ and then got--felt up and treated like a _toy_ in front of a jerk!”

“No,” he agreed. “But it's not like your act was any less--actually, I guess it was _more_ high-stress. You had the most riding on you, and you pulled it off like it was no sweat.” He gave her a small smile. “It was pretty impressive.”

“Oh yeah,” Julie said. “Impressive. Almost like I'm my father's daughter or something.”

Chuck stared at her, realizing at the same time why she was so distressed and why parts of her act had seemed so familiar. The certainty that she had every right to do whatever she wanted, the pleasure at getting the better of someone who stood in her way, the cold dismissal in her voice as she prepared to walk away--she'd gotten them all from Kane’s repertoire. Holy shit, it'd been a highly accurate imitation, too, looked at in that light. Terrifying, if he could be terrified right now.

“Whoa, hey, no!” Mike said. “Jules, you did good, you were amazing, but that doesn't mean it was real, okay? You're nothing like him.”

Julie was still a long moment, then dropped her forehead against his chest and left it there. “How do you know?” she said quietly.

He draped a cautious arm around her back, the closest you could usually get to hugging Julie before she got all prickly.

“Because,” he said simply. “I know you. You're a good person.”

Julie laughed and her voice broke on it. “Mike…”

“Julie, it was a persona,” Chuck said. “Not, like, the real you coming out or something.” It was weird trying to reassure her when he could barely tell he was concerned, upset by her distress.

“Then why was it so easy?”

“Because you're a really good actor?” Mike tried.

Chuck cocked his head and stopped just short of the final step to deactivate the protocol. It seemed likely that his emotions would interfere more than help at the moment. “Why do _you_ think it was easy? What are you afraid of?”

His stomach dipped and seemed to shift sideways a little as the ship undocked from the station and its own artificial gravity took over from the station’s. Good, there was one less thing to be distantly concerned about--no angry thugs were coming after them now in vengeance for the somehow-uncovered charade.

Julie was quiet. “If I can act like that--like other people exist to serve me, and I have the right to treat them however I want--I could be like him,” she said finally.

“Jules, don't be silly,” Mike started, and Chuck interrupted him.

“Yeah, you could.” Julie turned her head to look at him, her pale face intent as Mike made a noise of objection and protest.

Chuck went on, “If something happened to make you care more about what you wanted or thought was right than about what anyone else needed, yeah. You could be a lot like Kane. You've got the ruthlessness and the determination and the will to command. But you'd have to totally change your priorities first, because unless I'm wrong, one of them is ‘don't be like Kane’.”

“And you'd have to stop hanging out with us,” Mike added. “Cuz, y’know, we'd tell you to cut it out if you ever started getting like that. And also, Chuck’s leaving out some important details about how you're really kind and you like helping people and you don't think anyone who annoys you is automatically your enemy--you've got some similarities, I guess, but you've also got a bunch of stuff he doesn't.”

Julie paused a long few seconds, then slowly nodded. “Okay,” she said, letting out a long breath. “Okay, that, that makes sense.” She leaned into Mike. “Thanks, guys.”

“Anytime,” Mike said.

“No problem,” Chuck said. He'd barely been able to feel the concern, and now he could barely feel the relief. He should probably turn off the protocol, but he was pretty sure it was going to result in some degree of meltdown, and although he would need to deal with that eventually, ‘not yet’ seemed like a reasonable choice.

“Sorry,” Julie sighed. “I just--I guess I freaked myself out, pulling that act.” She looked up at Mike. “It must have been a lot worse from your end. Are you doing okay?”

Mike gave her a smile that was almost convincing. “Yup.”

Julie tilted her head, no more fooled than Chuck was. “I'm sorry,” she said quietly. “I would hate to be treated like that. I'm sorry I did it to you.”

Mike shifted his shoulders, looking uncomfortable. “You had to, it was the only way we would've gotten anything out of him.”

“I know,” she said. “I'm still sorry.”

Mike twitched and looked away. His eye fell on Chuck and he frowned. “Don't be, it's fine. I'm more worried about Chuck. There a reason you haven't unblocked your emotions, buddy?”

“Oh, yeah, I figured I'd wait a while on that,” Chuck said, shrugging. “I'm probably going to need significant amounts of physical contact, reassurance and comfort, and this doesn't seem like a convenient time to require that stuff.” Wow, normally he would've been incredibly embarrassed to say most of that, but he could only feel a tiny hint of it. It was almost like he didn't care, which was much preferable.

“Seriously? Chuck!” Julie said, successfully distracted from Mike, which had obviously been his plan.

“Aw, geez, buddy,” Mike said. “You don't have to wait for a convenient time to have feelings! It can't be good for you to be suppressing them this long, either. Why don't you go ahead and turn them back on?”

Chuck considered that and decided it checked out. But given the strong probability of a meltdown-- “Can we go somewhere more comfortable first?”

“Sure, dude.” Mike glanced at Julie, hesitating. “My quarters?”

“I can leave you guys alone,” Julie suggested, stepping back from Mike.

Mike reached out a hand to stop her retreat. “Jules--I'm not mad at you. You know that, right?” She didn't answer, eyes searching his face, and he rumpled his hair and sighed. “Seriously. You don't have to go.” He quirked a smile at her. “Chuck could probably use the extra hugs, too.”

She watched him another moment before nodding.

They got to Mike’s quarters and settled onto the bed, Mike and Julie on either side of Chuck. Chuck only vaguely noticed the distant swell of unease before he completed the last step to deactivate the protocol.

There was a brief moment of disorientation and a bizarre sensation like something huge was rushing towards him--and then it hit, and he was gasping for breath, choking on it, drowning in fury at Yan and echoes of fear and secondhand humiliation. His eyes stung as Mike and Julie wrapped their arms around him, and his hands clenched and worked until they fastened onto Julie’s arm and Mike’s leg and clung.

“It's okay, buddy,” Mike murmured. “We gotcha.”

“Oh my fucking god,” Chuck gasped, “that _bastard_.” His vision blurred and his breathing was all shaky and weird. He couldn't even tell if he was crying as a physical reaction to adrenaline letdown, or if it was due to some or all of the sea of assorted, overpowering emotions. If the alternative to feeling things in the moment as they came was to be swamped by this poisonous mixture of rage and anguish afterwards, Chuck was never using that protocol again.

“We won't see him again,” Julie said. “We're not coming back here. He can't touch Mike or any of us now.”

Chuck sobbed, gritting his teeth. Images from the past few hours kept sliding up behind his eyes, sparking new waves of gut-wrenching anger, fear, helplessness. The eager look in Yan’s eyes when he'd thought Mike was hurting. The look on Mike's face when--

“He wanted to _buy Mike_ ,” Chuck got out, and folded into a little ball, shaking.

“Shh, it's okay,” Mike said, holding him while Julie stroked his back. He shuddered and made hoarse, choking noises, and they just kept holding him, soothing him, murmuring reassurance until the sobs shaking him finally began to ease.

“If it makes you feel better, I don't think he expected me to go for it,” Julie said eventually. “I mean, he did wait until we were almost ready to leave. And of course I just didn't feel like selling.”

“Julie!” Chuck wailed.

“Chuck, we're _okay!_ ” she said. “We're safe. _Mike_ is safe.”

“Yeah, I'm right here, Chuckles, I'm okay,” Mike said, squeezing him.

Chuck gasped and sniffed and swallowed, turning his head to see Mike through his bangs. “Are you?” he said in a small voice. “Cuz you don't… really seem okay.”

Mike’s face went through several expressions as he tried to find a response to that. “I am,” he said, and stopped. Sighed. “I will be. Okay?”

“Seriously, bro?” Chuck said shakily. “That couldn't have been fun.”

“It didn't need to be fun,” Mike said. “After I got on Yan’s bad side, we knew he wanted me taken down a few pegs. So we showed him what he wanted to see and he gave Julie everything we needed.”

“Mikey, I _know_ , that's not the point,” Chuck said. He gasped and shuddered one last time and slumped, emptied out and tired. “You said you _will_ be okay. I want to know how you are right now.”

Mike closed his eyes, lips tightening before he looked at Chuck and shrugged. “I dunno. That whole thing was really… not great. Getting all--yanked around and turned on and stuff in front of him. Not to mention the dang reward thing going off all the time.”

“I know,” Julie groaned. “Here we were worried he'd be suspicious if you weren't being affected visibly enough by it, and the slimy jerk was too busy pretending he wasn't convinced to care!”

“That doesn't mean he didn't notice,” Mike pointed out. “It was still a good idea. I don't think I could have been as convincing without it.”

“It still sucks you had to deal with the collar working at all,” Julie said.

Chuck sat up straighter and rubbed his sleeve over his face to dry it off. It hadn't exactly been easy making the thing safe to put on, getting rid of the disciplinary programming and stuff while leaving the reward module intact. He would've been happier to break it entirely, but they hadn't known how much Yan knew about the damn things.

He looked at Mike, biting his lip. “Was it… bad?”

Mike looked away, staring at the tattered poster stuck to his wall. “Getting this… little jolt of pleasure every time I followed an order? And all the hair-pulling and stuff, getting to me like it usually does, and he was watching the whole time--I mean. It wasn't _good_ , that's for sure.”

“God,” Chuck muttered. “I would've freaked out.”

Mike shrugged again. “I was just mad.”

“That makes sense,” Julie said. “If I was in your place, I think I'd be pissed off at everything right now.”

Mike blinked over at her. “Yeah?”

“Uh, _yeah_ , Mike. I'd probably want to rip that whole station apart with my bare hands.”

Snorting, Mike shook his head. “I'm not sure I'd go that far. I just kinda want to punch Yan in the face.” He was quiet a moment, then burst out, “He's such a _jerk!_ He _enjoyed_ that! And we just--gave him exactly what he wanted. I had to pretend to be _broken_ for him. And to hate Julie! And,” he made a face, “doing that whole punishment thing felt really stupid, and kind of gross at the same time.”

“Well, it _looked_ terrifying,” Chuck said, shoulders hunching in memory. “You never made it look that real when I walked you through the scenario before.”

“Yeah, good work,” Julie said. “All the practice really paid off.”

“At least it worked,” Mike said.

“And hey, now you know how to act, maybe we'll come back someday just to get you in range to punch him a few times,” Chuck said. Mike's dark look was getting to him. It was unnerving to see Mike so grim, so far from even a tired smile.

“Think I'll pass, thanks,” Mike said, and rubbed a hand over his face before making a growling noise. “The _worst_ part is that he believed you'd betray me in the first place! He thinks I wouldn't notice _before_ my crew got that unhappy with me? Or that I wouldn't do anything about it? God, what a jerk.”

“Jerks like him assume everyone else is just as bad,” Julie said, shrugging. “Who cares what he thinks? We know you're a good captain.” She reached around Chuck to put her hand on Mike's back. “You don't need to worry about that, okay, cowboy?”

“Yeah,” Mike said, and subsided a little. “I don't like being angry,” he muttered. “It sucks, I just wanna…” His hands clenched and worked and he stared at them, tight-lipped. “I want to hurt someone. I hate that.”

“You could go spar with Texas,” Julie suggested.

Mike’s head came up. “I could,” he said slowly. “I could do that.” He took a breath, blew it out. “Maybe I will, tomorrow. Head’s in the wrong place right now.”

“Sounds smart,” Julie said.

“Hey,” Chuck said. “You did really good today, bro.” He gave Mike a hard hug, Mike letting out a startled _oof!_ “I don't think we said. You did good.”

“You were good,” Julie agreed quietly. “I know it was hard even walking off the ship with that thing on, but you stuck it out. You were really impressive.”

It was probably due to how long they'd known each other that Chuck could feel something shift in Mike, like a steady whirl of motion just out of sight suddenly calming, slowing to a halt. As the approval registered, a subtle tension eased out of him and his shoulders loosened.

“Thanks,” he said in a low voice.

For a moment they were all quiet, Chuck with an arm around Mike, Julie with an arm across Chuck’s shoulders and her hand resting on Mike’s shoulder.

“You guys did good, too,” Mike said. “You both doing all right?”

“Yeah, I'm good,” Chuck sighed. He probably had a restless night ahead of him, full of insomnia or nightmares or both, but right now he'd reached a calm place, and he was going to damn well enjoy it.

“I'm fine,” Julie said, and hesitated. “You're not--are we really okay?”

“Yeah. I'm really not mad at you,” Mike said firmly. “You did good, Jules. You didn't do any of the things I told you not to, and you saved the whole thing when I thought he'd seen through us somehow.”

“Oh, that,” Julie said, and snorted. “He was just waiting for me to sweeten the deal, and not with any three percent, either.”

“Well, whatever it was, you fixed it. And, uh, in case you were wondering, I really don't want to throw you out an airlock. Like, at all,” he added as she snorted with startled laughter.

“Nice to hear, but that bit I wasn't exactly worried about,” she said. “Um.” Amusement fading, she took a deep breath, her arm falling away from Chuck’s shoulders. “I don't want to humiliate you,” she said in a small, tight voice. “And I don't want you trained, or treated like a toy, or taken down any pegs at all. I like you the way you are.”

Chuck turned in alarm, because she sounded like she was fighting off tears, and Julie crying was about as wrong and terrifying a thought as Texas speaking in a quiet, polite tone of voice. “Hey,” he said, putting his other arm tentatively around her. “You okay?”

She breathed in through her nose and her cheeks puffed out as she exhaled. “Yeah,” she said, only a little shaky, and leaned into him.

“Jules,” Mike said on the other side of Chuck. “I also don't mind kissing you. You don't even have to order me, I'll do it on my own. Uh, if you want me to.”

She gave a small, unsteady smile. “That's good. I don't think I'm going to feel like ordering you to do anything for a while. And I'm not pulling your hair for about a standard year.”

“I think I'm okay with that,” Mike said reluctantly. “But. I kinda want to kiss you. Is… that okay?”

“I can move,” Chuck offered.

“Or you can stay right where you are,” Julie said, leaning across his lap. Mike leaned in to meet her and they kissed right in front of Chuck, gentle and sweet.

“We're okay,” Mike murmured when they pulled apart a little. His smile was cautious, but looked more real than it had since they'd gotten back to the ship.

“Yeah,” Julie said, and her smile back looked stronger, too. “We're going to be okay.”

“Oh my god,” Chuck said, rubbing his hands over his face, only partly to hide his stupid smile, “I want to sleep for a week.”

“You wanna stay the night?” Mike said, not quite managing a casual tone.

Chuck blinked at him. “I didn't think you'd be up for that.”

Mike shrugged and looked at Julie, whose mouth opened.

“Both of us? Are you sure?”

Mike twitched, eyes widening. “Oh, not for--just to sleep! S-sorry.” He grimaced, ran a hand through his messy hair. “Sorry, no, you're right, not--not really up for that.”

“Mike, it's fine,” Julie said. “I'd be happy to stay, if you think it's a good idea.”

Chuck nodded hastily.

“I--yeah,” Mike said. “I think it might help. I kinda want you guys close so I can remember it's not--remember everything's okay. You know?”

Chuck leaned in and wrapped his arms around Mike. “Yeah, Mikey. We know.”

When they settled into bed, it was with Chuck on one side of Mike and Julie curled into him on the other. Chuck fell asleep more easily than expected. He woke from nightmares twice, Julie kept moaning in her sleep until Mike woke her, and Mike jerked awake panting and tense every couple of hours, but each time the other two were there to hold them and murmur reassurance and soothe them back to sleep. Chuck drifted off after his second nightmare with Mike sleepily stroking his hair, and the warmth and comfort stayed with him the rest of the night.

**Author's Note:**

> I did my best to tag thoroughly without spoiling the fic, but do let me know if I need to tag anything else.


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